Metal Bassists

I'm in the Army Band too!! So two reasons I only play metal on my own...1.my current gig 2. There isn't a real prominent metal scene here(not much to be angry about in paradise I guess!!??) In a couple years I'll be freed up to play my music though, just gotta maintain my chops till then

 

Its ok...i have to play percussion too, but I get to use either of my BC Rich basses and nobody says **** to me... Though I got some strange looks playing jazz dining outs with my mockingbird or with concert band!!! Hehehe!!

gotta keep that evil spirit in me somehow!!!

 

Well, I do play standup and prefer it for jazz, but I did that to save room in the van.... Then again its not like they can fire me LOL!!
I will say, if you never played an older Bernie C. Rico handmade bass your missing out!! If there ever was to be truly "the best bass for metal" it is any of the older BC Rich neckthru basses', even the old NJ Series(before they made them in Korea)are amazing instruments, and sonically they are plenty adept with other styles as well...

and yeah, I went through a fender phase, I should've kept one but I didn't.... Oh well, I dig pointy basses I guess, Gibson a close 2nd

 

Yeah, jackson/charvel basses are great, only had one though...the only pointy thing on it was that hockey stick headstock as it was a neckthru pbass style, it cut through the mix perfectly!!

if you ever find an old used BC rich definitely try it out, they are fantastic, I still want to try the bich or the wave

 

Yeah, Ibanez are great, my 2nd bass was a sound gear 5 string, I just don't like 5ers due to hand issues, I actually prefer fatter Gibson like necks now opposed to skinny Ibanez style... So maybe you wouldn't dig the older BC Riches as most are beefy necks...so yeah, whatever works for ya!!

 

That's cool, I can play 5 or 6 strings, but they do slow me down quite a bit with my right hand....ever try the Conklin 7 string though, that thing is a nightmare , I dunno how bill dickens plays it, I tried one once, it was embarrassing!! Hahaha

sad thing is I used to love slimmer necks, now they make my left hand cramp....must be from playing the upright

 

Thats awesome man, So did I

 

I was always surrounded by music as a kid. When I was about 12 or 13 I started listening to Iron Maiden, WASP, GNR, Queensryche etc; the late 80s/early 90s were a great time for metal (before Grunge destroyed it.)
Early on I saw Steve Harris in Live After Death and I knew that's what I wanted to do. Once I really figured out what the bass sounded like (not everyone does) I listened to Harris, Butler, McKagan, Bello, Eddie Jackson, etc and was sold on it.
I've been in classic metal bands, death/grind bands, and experimental rock. I always seem to gravitate towards heavier lines when I'm playing. I understand jazz, blues, and funk modes, but I get bored with them after a while.

Since other people are plugging their bands I'll go ahead and whore out mine too. We will be going into the studio next month with a new singer and drummer.

 

Old school thrasher here! All Hail and Horns to the fellow metal heads!

Got into metal and prog in the late 70's with Rush, Sabbath, Budgie, Styx and Kansas, and then was weened during the "Golden Age" of NWOBHM and the early hardcore punk and thrash scene. My first concert without parents was Iron Maiden/Judas Preist. My first concert ever was the Jackson 5 (not metal, but still....) Got to see Metallica with Cliff and missed seeing Ozzy with Randy Rhoads by a couple of months. Also got to see Minor Threat, 7 Seconds, Agent Orange...too many underground punk bands to remember.

I am a drummer by profession, but my foray into the "melodic world" was on bass first. I can play guitar, but I don't in public. I can also play all of the wind instruments since I was a Music Education major in college, and am now a band director "type". My dad was a jazz drummer around town, so I also grew up with jazz in the house, and love that as well as classical.

Have been in original metal bands all of my life, with my first real gig being when I was in 9th grade at a small club south of Ohio States campus. The bands have always been prog, punk, or thrash influenced.

Currently I play bass in a crossover-thrash/groove-thrash band (think Sacred Reich meets Minor Threat meets Pantera meets SOD meets Iron Maiden) called Fools Crown. I also have been playing drums in a surfy/post-punk/new-wavey/indie pop band for the past 20 years called Go Robot, Go!. Both bands have stuff on iTunes.

My basses include:
72 P bass - bought in 1985. I am the 2nd owner
86 Charvel 3c - bought new in 86
92 Fender MIM AVRI 62 Jazz Bass - "inherited" from a freind who didn't want to use it anymore
2000 Hamer Explorer - bought this past Christmas from a fellow TB'er

I play finger style, with Geddy Lee and Steve Harris being my main influences, and never use distortion or effects. I am a "plug and play" kind of guy.

My rig is:
QSC Power Amp (from the 90's...don't remember the model number off hand)
Tech 21 RBI Sans Amp pre-amp
Avatar NeoB410 (my 2nd most favorite piece of gear behind my 72 P)
Homemade 2x15 (with the same speakers Avatar uses)

Great to see all of the metal heads represent

 

Yes, I really enjoy Vildhjarta! I actually got into them before Meshuggah hahaha. Augury is amazing as well, I listened to that band specifically because I'm just a huge fan of Dominic; but all of them are great musicians in the band. I've heard of Bore Worm, i'll have to check them out!